PhishLI

Without ever giving much in the way of detail, @dodgeguy pounded me into submission with his metronomic endorsement of the 2020 Lew's Tournament Pro LFS. The $139 everyday sale price at the place that outfits sportsmen made it worthwhile to find out whether he was a kook or not. As it turns out this reel is now one of my most fished favorites. Its actual casting performance is top notch in my hands. Couldn't be happier. He's definitely less kooky than I might have thought beforehand. @T-Billy's recent relentless flogging of ARK rods has me ready to bend the knee. The ARK Essence ticks a lot of boxes feature-wise, so why not. I'll find out for myself if he's batty after the next TW sale.

I have 4E+ width feet and high arches. Unless written by my clone, there isn't much useful found in any given shoe review beyond the grip of the soles and longevity. I look at fishing gear reviews the same way.

The upside to the Steez A is the myriad of spools that can be dropped in to make it anything you want it to be from BFS capable to a rocket launcher. If you leave the A stone stock with its factory spool then the Met B is more capable with lighter baits.

Got a helicopter?

Hopefully this isn't ultimately the truth about your nephew, but some people are just bums. I have a bum or two in my extended family. Personally I have little patience for it. I walked out the door at 15 with $150 in my pocket. It never once entered my mind to leave school or to not continue my education. I did that, worked my arse off every which way imaginable, and even drove a new car off the showroom floor when I was 18 1/2. I don't expect anyone else to have that sort of drive, but... I moved mountains once to get a close childhood friend an extremely good job at a company I worked at. Great pay, benefits, working conditions...it was a hotel. Did everything I could to train him, but he was just somewhere else. Made a fool of me really, and I endorsed his firing before his probation period was up. Thankfully it didn't harm their perception of me. They understood where it came from. Several years later I started my own business. Once again I gave him a shot. Maybe I couldn't accept my failure at getting him over the hump previously. I really tried, but forget it. He's just a bum. I haven't spoken to him in years, but know people who have. 30 years later he's still a bum. I often thought the only thing that would've saved him was being drafted in wartime, but even then, who knows? Yours isn't the first thread to broach this subject. I've read on these pages before that there are plenty of very motivated young people. I don't doubt anyone who has given examples of exceptional young people in their workplaces, but that has not been my experience for quite some time. I've tried, but haven't had the pleasure of encountering a 20 year old worth a dime in a very long time. Honestly, I'm not really interested in hiring anyone under 45. It's just a different mindset. Not sure if it's all the videogames, Low-T, or estrogen washed into the aquifers, and I really don't care. Their general state of being, especially contrasted against my own personal experience at a similar age, is just generally foreign to me. I have friends with businesses, and this is a widespread issue here. Perhaps it's a regional thing? Who knows? Good luck. Not sure how many chances you should give him, or slaps to the face you should endure. It's unpleasant to have your heart hardened by people you care about.

I think you'd need to gauge that on the lakes you fish. It's not unusual for a big fish to dive into the thickest weeds with at least a big treble hook or two left out to snag a huge mound of weeds. This happened to me last summer on a slob while using 50lb straight braid. Bent out the rear treble on a G2 and lost the fish on a jump. I can't say for sure, but I'm just about positive 15lb anything would've popped in this situation.

That's just terrible, CupCake. Boo Hoo. We're iced over here, and it'll be 15* on Wednesday.

I'm guessing that because they went with a very light spool it works well as a system. The 2020 Tournament Pro LFS works fine with nearly as light of a spool as the SP when using the prescribed skipping settings of the SP. I believe if a person is committed to skipping, most reels are up to snuff. I skip a lot using a Pflueger Supreme XT which has a 19 gram spool that's nearly double the weight of the SP's, centrifugal brake, and I can manage skips just fine while using typical casting settings. The reason I like using this reel for skipping is its spool's width and low thumb bar position. Combined with its frame size/ergonomics my grip and thumb position allows just about perfect thumb control for the way I grip and my hand size. In contrast I have a terrible time trying to skip with the current Chronarch as my fat thumb often ends up riding the rim of the spool instead of the line. So for me anyway, a good skipping reel needs to have a combination of elements beyond ideal spool weight and brake specs.

I'm waiting on the USDM brass geared Zillion SV. Hopefully the HD spool is a drop-in option. Pretty sure it is. @bulldog1935 is rockin' a fancy BFS spool in his, so I'll probably grab one of those down the line too.

Elsewhere in the cyberverse you'll find a 50 page thread dedicated to it authored by the pickiest of the picky. Few complaints about it beyond cosmetic preference stuff. Like any new, highly touted thing its hype may lead some to believe it'll even shine their shoes, and some people just aren't mag-brake types. Who knows why people sell? 3 grams too heavy? I made my mind up already that I'll love it when it gets here. I'm waiting 2 months so far on my backordered model, so my input is only the ranting of some dude shut in by subfreezing temps, so...

20lb Big game on "that" particular rod will have the gusto for the size jig hook baits you're likely to throw in Iowa, and enough stretch for larger treble hook baits, 168s, etc. It's not a rubberband like XL. Since you already own it you should use it without feeling like you're taking a risk. Tie a good knot and don't worry about it. There are higher tests available obviously, but 20lb Big Game is remarkably strong line. I haven't broken off once with it, and I'm usually swinging on them like a fool, then fighting them back through stupidly thick weeds.

True, but still not bad. At least I got to handle a variety of rods from different manufactures which helped in eliminating models that wouldn't fit well, and if bought blindly online would be a disappointment. All I have here is F&S and J&H. Even though the Melville F&S is actually pretty good, and J&H is pretty great for higher end gear, there're only so many lines they carry. Besides all that, it's a good reason to do a day trip with my brother.

Looks like it does what it's supposed to.

It's usually a good one. Lotsa goodies. Oh well. Maybe some day. https://suffern.sportshows.com/

I translated the page then scrolled down. Before the Tester's impression it shows pics. Seems odd they'd include that info sandwiched in if it doesn't apply.

Legal Dope Tum Tum and Lancotti Psyco Gill 3pc.

Just checked. Free floating spool. Double bearing pinion. Aluminum sideplate. Mini Zillion! sign me up

close https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/6th_Sense_Provoke_106X_Jerkbait/descpage-6SC106X.html closer https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Yo-Zuri_Crystal_Minnow_Floating_130mm/descpage-CMF.html?from=basres

Good post. I've helped eight people, so far, transition from spinning to BCs, plus my brother. All are right handed including my brother, but he's unusual. He writes righty, pitched righty, casts righty, but kicks a ball with his left foot. He's always casted a spinning reel with his right, but then switches hands and reels righty. Such a weirdo. The other eight guys who I've helped make the leap to BCs all had their choice of retrieve. All chose to cast right and reel left. One kid, Justin, had to wait until his birthday to get a reel, but the fam got him a RH. I told him to give it a chance. He did, but couldn't stand it after three trips. No problem because DSG takes back anything. He's happy now with his LH BC. All the guys I fish with except two are righties using LH reels and don't switch hands. My strange brother is one of the two, and the other guy learned on his father's hand me down RH reels. He's 25 years down that road, so he's conditioned to it. I'm not going to claim that this small sample size represents the entire population. However, if anyone else asks for my help I won't be surprised if this lopsided trend continues, especially if they came from winding spinning reels left handed. That said I'm not deaf to the reasoning of people who make the opposite choice for themselves. In reality the downsides, if they exist at all, are negligible. Also, many righties are total spazzes with their left hand, so I understand why they'd have trouble with a LH reel. One exiled BR member would often describe this syndrome far more elegantly as lacking fine motor skills in the non-dominant hand. Disclaimer: Once again, I don't care if someone picks their left earhole with their right hand, or scratches their right butt cheek with their left hand. Have at it. Be happy.

Is that you, John Mclaughlin?

Maybe. Maybe not.? On a side note: I bet we wouldn't be having this conversation if left and right handed reels were available in equal measure from the beginning of time. I doubt many people would switch hands if this was so. Switching hands is an adaptation because of lack of availability of one type of reel, or that's just how they were taught by some old fart who didn't have a choice. It's akin to a right handed tennis player serving righty, but then switching the racket to his left hand to play the point. Perhaps in an oddball case this might occur, but it's certainly not the norm, and sort of whacky, IMO. With that, I'd encourage anyone who has the latitude to try something different to give it a whirl. After a short time they might just prefer it to bass-ackwards.

I'm in the do-what-makes-you-happy camp. What makes me happy is not switching hands regardless of which arm I'm casting with, and this isn't about a philosophical position on efficiency. In both situations I cast with one hand on the reel and one on the rod's butt. As soon as I grab the handle with the hand formerly on the butt I seamlessly slide up, or climb up my palming hand in to position. Feels perfectly natural to me. I'm a righty, but as it turns out I prefer working a jerkbait holding the rod and palming the reel in my left hand, so in the course of learning to cast with either arm and reeling with both left and right reels I found this out. Also, having the option to switch makes life way easier when I'm on a small boat with another person. Now boat position doesn't cause an issue whether it's clockwise, counter-clockwise, or otherwise, and I haven't slapped anyone's hat off or grazed an earlobe in a while.

Don't remove the palming side plate, and leave the spool installed. Remove the handle and sideplate, but nothing else. Let's see a few close-up pictures of the installed as-is main gear, pinion/yoke assembly.

I clicked on his post thinking I was getting a sneak peak at a new for '22 yellow baitcaster? OK. So follow what @iabass8 and I outlined and report back. If what's been written doesn't make sense ask again and someone will clarify further. It's easy stuff once you get it.

Learning to use both will help make you more versatile on a boat and even on the bank. It's definitely an advantage.